Published March 9, 2026 | Version 1.0
Preprint Open

The Two EFTs: Distinguishing Psychotherapy Approaches That Share the Same Acronym

  • 1. Consorzio Universitario Humanitas, Rome, Italy
  • 2. EFT Italia Community, Italy
  • 3. ISFAR – Istituto Superiore di Formazione Aggiornamento e Ricerca, Florence, Italy
  • 4. Independent Researcher, Florence, Italy
  • 5. York University

Description

This article offers a reflective and integrative exploration of Emotion-Focused Therapy and Emotionally Focused Therapy, tracing their shared origins and subsequent differentiation. By clarifying convergences and distinctions in theoretical foundations, clinical emphases, and respective views of emotion and attachment in therapeutic change, it aims to foster clarity and dialogue between the two EFT traditions. In doing so, it responds to a relative lack of systematic clarification in the existing literature and seeks to provide a generative framework to support further theoretical reflection and more in-depth future scholarship comparing the two EFTs.

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Dates

Issued
2026-03-09